Alana in Canada Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 We have now reached the furture tense of "sum" in our Latin. (Lively Latin). The translation is given as "I shall," for first person singular and "we shall," for first person plural with "will" being used for all other forms. Why? I have never understood when to use "shall" and "will"--is it just this simple? Is saying "I will go" just wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katrina Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Well, according to my Rod and Staff book, it says that in formal writing, "shall" is used for first person and "will" is used for second and third person. In general speech, "will" is used for all three persons. (Like I ever use "shall" anyway.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 We have now reached the furture tense of "sum" in our Latin. (Lively Latin). The translation is given as "I shall," for first person singular and "we shall," for first person plural with "will" being used for all other forms. Why? I have never understood when to use "shall" and "will"--is it just this simple? Is saying "I will go" just wrong? Dh says that in ye olden days (or in formal grammer such as Rod & Staff): I/we shall you/he/she/it/they will means "I am going to..." or "They are going to..." I/we will you/he/she/it/they shall has more of a sense that "I am determined to..." or giving an order/command "You will...." Dh also is of the opinion that R&S supplies more grammar than anyone really needs (though our dc are still using it!) and that saying "will" instead of "shall" is just fine, because otherwise we'd sound funny. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Yep, future is: I/we shall and you/he/she/it/they will I shall go to the store tomorrow. You will be seven years old next week. *But* It can be used the opposite way to show emphasis: You *shall* clean your room this instant. I *will* have my way in this. Latin Prep explains this to kids and ends with "the story of the poor Frenchman"... So the Frenchman is drowning (presumably in an English pond) and all of the villagers are about to rush in and rescue him. Till he shouts, "No one shall save me! I will drown!" The villagers take this to mean that that is his intention (not a statement of unfortunate fact), and leave him to it... The story stuck with the students -- they seem to remember the concept! (Even though it was one of the things I told them they didn't absolutely *have* to remember these days...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alana in Canada Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Oh my. Any more examples? I'm confuzzled. What do I do with this nagging sense I have that "shall" has a sense of permission to it--as in, "No one shall save me" means "No one is permitted to save me"? ack--or am I somehow just subconciously dragging in those antiquated lessons on "may" and "can"? (PS: I learned my English grammar only incidently as I studied French.) Is there a relationship between "may" and "shall" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 We just say "fixin' to," as in "I'm fixin' to go to the store." Solves the whole shall/will controversy. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alana in Canada Posted February 5, 2009 Author Share Posted February 5, 2009 Thanks Lanatron--that fixes it just fine for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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